Kids who can't/won't clean

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I know. Because my niece is a “good kid”, they are convinced that she would never do anything bad with the tablet. They seem to forget that kid’s don’t know that something is “bad” until they click on it. I pray that nothing too bad happens before they figure out what a bad idea this is.
 
By age 7 our son could scramble eggs. It is great to teach kids independence early on!!
 
Kids need to learn things, not to fear the world.

You teach them how to use a knife.

You teach them skills.

Our son was latchkey after school in 1st grade. He would come in, make a snack and feed his ferret.
 
Wow! Thinking a 3 yo with a knife sharp enough to cut meat is just fine. What is wrong with you people? There is a great deal of difference between 3 and 6/7 years old.
 
Horton said:
Wow! Thinking a 3 yo with a knife sharp enough to cut meat is just fine. What is wrong with you people? There is a great deal of difference between 3 and 6/7 years old.
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There are places where 3 year olds chop wood for cooking fires and help prepare meals in a daily basis.

Of course not all 3 year olds are the same, but to think the average 3 year old cannot safely use a knife under parental supervision for an everyday task if properly instructed to do so is false. One of my sons was cooking in the kitchen with me nightly at age 2. He loved watching cooking shows, knew the difference between chopped and diced, and could mix a boxed cale batter and pour it into a pan completely on his own. One of his sisters had no interest. She didn’t cook anything until she was 13 when she discovered candy making.

The cooking center in my kindergarten classroom was the kids favorite center. And yes, I actually did cook with them at least once a semester. We would make salad, fruit cups, bread dough and walk it to the cafeteria (each got to take their loaf home) and much more.
 
You cut your kids’ meat for them until they were six? See, that seems really weird to me. Cutting your own meat, tying your shoes, taking care of your own business in the bathroom, being able to swim were all things that used to be an embarrassment if you couldn’t do them independently by preschool.
 
My dad was one of 7,raised in poverty in a small old house in Europe,no tv,no radio even,outdoor makeshift toilet and no toilet paper (only leaves).
As the oldest male child he was required to sleep in the barn with the horses etc.

OP:please take what I say with a grain of salt as I’m not a parent but I think maybe your children may be overstimulated.
Could it be possible that they actually may have a bit of adhd or autism (or sometimes both come together)?
If it’s the case then i think it would help you (and probably them too) to have less choices such as limiting toys like other posters mentioned.
Could it also be an option for you to pick your daughters outfits 5 days of the week, and let her pick two days of the week (out of two outfit options)?
I would also get rid of the duck soap and anything else that is potentially exciting/distracting like smelly things,animal shapes etc…
 
My mum cut my meat for me until I was probably like 8 at least lol.
Wow you Americans are different from us.
European parents do things differently and think it’s dangerous for little kids to have sharp knives.
Even at 8 I was probably only allowed to cut with a serrated butter knife.

Going to the toilet in own yes,but not cutting with sharp knives.
Expectancy to know how to swim on own without floaters by pre-school?!😳
None of us children knew how to swim properly until about 7-8 when schools had the kids classes.

I think maybe you are expected a bit too much from your children that is beyond their cognitive abilities.
 
I hope they are at least supervised.
I’m adult and I still cut myself with the knife sometimes lol so surprised to hear some parents let little kids use them.
 
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Children’s capabilities are highly, highly influenced by culture. Everyone in the world has different practices, and we all think Everyone Else Is Doing It Wrong. There’s an excellent book by Nicholas Day about the immense variety in childrearing practices, and the message is that as long as kids aren’t being abused or neglected they tend to be okay no matter which practices you follow.
 
Yeah he’s with a machete but how much he knows how to use it properly…
I’m sure he knows how to chop it up and down but I doubt he knows how to direct the “energy” crisply and properly and how to be safe with it.
I’m sure he could help his parents cut through grass etc in his own little way with a child size machete suitable for his strength/frame but I sure wouldn’t think to leave him alone (or just with other children) with one.

Kids in such tribe communities often learn responsibility quicker than other kids but a 3 year old brain is still a 3 year old brain,no?
 
Probably the kid’s community have an excellent idea as to what the kid’s capabilities are and have decided that the best thing for him to do is to contribute as much as he can. A 3-year-old brain can be trained in many different ways, and it’s a mistake to believe that one’s own cultural expectations represent some sort of universal norm.
 
I suspect my daughter might have ADD, but probably not autism. My son was evaluated for autism around the age of two because I was concerned he wasn’t talking more than a word or two at a time and he didn’t even come close to being a concern for autism. Then the dam broke and he suddenly started speaking in sentences a couple of weeks later. I already feel like I have significantly limited the things in the house as far as I’m willing. (The duck soap has already been relocated to a little shelf.) My mother points out that my daughter is about to be thrust into the world via kindergarten and she needs to learn that the world isn’t her playroom and shouldn’t be making a mess of other people’s things and I think she has a point there. I’m actually worried that in her case I’ve been too diligent in “childproofing” the house and she hasn’t properly learned to keep her hand to herself because of it.
 
I don’t think I wore floaters past the age of three! I remember a float trip we took the summer before I went into kindy and I was incredibly indignant that I was required to wear a life preserver while swimming in the river. (I didn’t understand about undertow at the time.)
 
Do you set your kids up at the dinner table and then go shopping? Of course they’re supervised! They’re supervised for the entire meal! And they use the silicone knives, not steak knives. If you need a knife that is sharp enough for an adult to unintentionally cut themselves to cut your dinner, I humbly propose you need to learn how to marinade and use that Worcestershire sauce! Your meat is too tough!
 
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Way to make assumptions. I never spoke about tying shoes, using the bathroom, and swimming. I guess I just a very careful mother who cared greatly about the safety of my children. I never gave them a sharp knife at the age of three.

It may seem weird to you but to me it seems prudent.

And yes @TheLittleLady I await your criticism also.
 
He better know how to use it property! He doesn’t have any clothes on! I’m assuming he’s not wearing shoes either. He could lose a toe!
 
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